The present invention relates to a shock absorber control system for automotive vehicles for optimizing the damping forces of vehicle shock absorbers under varying road surface conditions.
Various types of shock absorber control systems are known. One approach involves inceasing the absorber's damping forces in response to a wheel speed variation which a function of road surface condition. U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,909 filed Dec. 27, 1982 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention discloses a damping control system which detects rapid wheel speed variations and counts the occurrence of the detected variations. When the count exceeds a prescribed value, the absorber's damping forces are increased. Although satisfactory for road surfaces having continued irregularities, this system fails to respond to surface having irregularities that occur discontinuously.